Some apps are a fun distraction, while other apps are practical and useful for everyday living — and others still are convenient but may get your radar up when it comes to security and privacy. If you’re thinking about spring cleaning your device so that it runs more efficiently and is as secure as possible, many tech experts say there’s one app that you may not realize is putting you more at risk than necessary. It’s not Facebook or even Snapchat — this is the worst app to use on your iPhone, according to security experts.
Google Assistant
Virtual assistants seem like an amazing idea in theory — who could have imagined years ago that you’d have a phantom voice at your beck and call that can make weather reports appear or book a table at your favorite restaurant in seconds? Unfortunately, it takes a lot of data collecting to become so great at managing your life — therein lies the problem with apps like Google Assistant.
“Calling out for Alexa, Google, and Siri frequently may give the impression that you’ve grown a third child,” says Adam Crossling, Marketing Manager at zenzero. “However, how secure is this ‘virtual assistant’ technology? While all of these applications are risky due to their constant listening capabilities, Google Assistant is the most so. On any smartphone or tablet running Android 5.0 or higher, the “Google Assistant” feature may be enabled using the Google app. “This is one of the most widely used apps,” the issue claims. It records not just behavioral information, but also voice searches, which it may do at any time. This means that your voice recordings might be connected to Google adverts whenever you talk about anything.”
And just because Google Assistant is on the hot seat doesn’t mean Siri doesn’t deserve to be closely examined.
“The worst app that many security experts say should not be on your iPhone is Siri,” says Robert Welch, the CEO of Projector1. “Using Siri looks cool, but recent revelations have shown that when you talk to Siri, Siri isn't the only one listening. It has also come to light that Siri listens to you even when you are not talking to Siri.”
Brent Hale, Chief Content strategist at Tech Guided, agrees: “This may sound terrible, but Siri is one of the worst apps for security and privacy. To be honest, I enjoy using SIRI because it makes a lot of work easier and faster, but the sad reality is that it records everything. You may believe that it only listens when you talk to her, but it actually records every single interaction you have, no matter how private those conversations are for you.”
Bottom line: if security and privacy are concerns, think twice before attempting to make your life easier by relying on a virtual assistant — they collect more info on you then you may have thought.
